Who Was Samson?

Who was Samson? Samson was the twelfth, final, and climactic judge in the book of Judges as recorded in Judges 13–16. His family was from the tribe of Dan (Judg. 13:2). As a judge, Samson served as an official of the Mosaic covenant and as a type of Christ. The claim that Samson served as a type of Christ is substantiated in two ways. First, all of the judges in the book of Judges served as types of Christ by nature of their office. Second, the particular details of Samson’s life connect him to both John the Baptist as a forerunner of a coming king, and the instrument of God’s deliverance of the nation of Israel from the oppression of their sin and their subjugation by the surrounding nations.

Samson, like all of the major judges in the book of Judges, is portrayed as a type of Christ by virtue of the office of judge itself. The judges are identified as successors to Joshua (Judg. 1:1; 2:6–10, 16), who succeeded Moses as the mediator of the Mosaic covenant (Deut. 31:23; 34:9; Josh. 1:1–9). One author summarizes:

Thus, as successors to Moses and Joshua, the judges are to be, in the most comprehensive sense, the mediators of the covenant, at the heart of which was the exclusive worship of God and obedience to God’s ways.¹

In the second introduction to the book of Judges, the fivefold function of the office of judge is set forth (Judg. 2:6–3:6). These individuals were:

• raised up by the Lord (Judg. 2:16, 18);
• empowered by the Spirit of the Lord (Judg. 2:18; see also 3:10; 4:14; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14);
• to deliver (save) God’s people (Judg. 2:16; see also 3:9);
• to secure the land’s rest (Judg. 2:18; see also 3:11; 8:28);
• and to promote Israel’s fidelity to the covenant (Judg. 2:17–19).

Each of the stated aspects of the office of judge in the book of Judges points us to the person and work of Jesus as presented in the New Testament. Jesus was:

• raised up by the Father (John 5:36–37; Rom. 6:4; Gal. 1:1);
• empowered by the Spirit (Matt. 3:16; 12:18);
• to deliver God’s people (Matt. 1:21; 1 John 4:14);
• to provide rest (Matt. 11:28–29);
• and to ensure the obedience of God’s people (Rom. 5:19).

In addition to the office itself, the details of the life of Samson identify him both as a forerunner of a coming king, and as a type of that king. As a judge, Samson was commissioned by the Lord in Judges 13:5: “And he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (emphasis added). In this way, Samson is connected with King David, who will finish what Samson began with Israel’s deliverance from the Philistines (1 Sam. 17; 2 Sam. 7:1).

As a forerunner to the arrival of King David, it is interesting to note that the authors of the New Testament Gospels used the account of the life of Samson in the book of Judges as the model for the account of the life of John the Baptist, another forerunner to a coming Davidic King. Both accounts begin with similar birth narratives (Judg. 13; Luke 1:5–25). Both mothers were barren (Judg. 13:2; Luke 1:7). Both were to be kept from wine and strong drink from prior to their birth (Judg. 13:3–5; Luke 1:15). In both accounts, an angel of the Lord makes the birth announcement (Judg.13:3; Luke 1:11). Both fathers struggled with believing the news of the angel of the Lord (Judg.13:16–17; Luke 1:18–20). Both birth narratives record the commission or job description of each figure (Judg.13:5; Luke 1:16–17). Later in life, both Samson and John the Baptist are betrayed by women (Delilah and the daughter of Herodias, respectively), resulting in their eventual death (Judg. 16; Matt. 14:1–12). Finally, both men serve as forerunners to the coming of a King who would achieve a greater rest for God’s people (2 Sam 7:1; Matt. 11:28).

Additionally, Samson is betrayed by those he loves and handed over to the enemy by his own people. His feats of strength and his victories over the enemy were enabled by the Spirit of the Lord. In fact, the work of the Spirit is mentioned four times with Samson, more than any other judge in the book of Judges (Judg. 13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14). Despite the various failures in his life that point to a need for one greater than himself, Samson was faithful to his calling to defeat the Philistines, faithful even unto death. In his death, Samson achieved his greatest victory over the enemy, a victory that came in the context of his humiliation, the ultimate display of true strength. In the book of Judges, Samson is a type of Christ, not a type of you or me. Samson and Jesus are saviors, and we are those who need saving. Noting the significance of the life of Samson in the book of Judges, Barry Webb has observed:

His birth is announced beforehand by an angel. His conception is miraculous. He is rejected by his own people. Its leaders bind him and hand him over to their pagan overlords (16:13). His saving work is consummated in his death, a death in which he brings down Dagon and lays a foundation for a deliverance to be more fully manifested in the future. In other words, here, in this most unlikely figure, we see, possibly more clearly than anywhere else in the Old Testament, the shape of things to come.²

Who was Samson? Samson was, and continues to be, a type of Christ (Heb. 11:32–40).³